Need Ideas for First Purchase on Amex Green

[Anonymous]

OK, I need some creative suggestions for the first time I swipe my new Green.

When I got my Blue my first charges were concert tickets and marina fees. Since I now live in the middle of nowhere my charges to Blue have become quite pedestrian; cable, cell, internet, etc.

There is not a Starbucks within at least 60 miles, no national chain car rentals within 50 miles (the local car rental/used appliance store here only accepts cash or local checks), my gym membership is paid for the year,  I'm not planning any flights in the near future.

I could take a day/overnight trip to a casino, have been thinking about that actually. Would a hotel charge at a casino be seen as a positive or a negative?

Suggestions appreciated. Thanks. 

[smalldede]

I believe currently All amex charge product have a 2X point for shopping at gas station and grocery  store .Why not just go to gas station first and shopping at local grocery store.

[haulingthescoreup]

I used both my AmEx cards for the first time at good restaurants. Not obscenely good, but cloth napkin good.

If it is true than AmEx is reverting to its travel and entertainment roots, this ought to make them happy. And you'll get a good meal!

[Anonymous]

I don't know where you live, but I want to move there Seriously, no Starbucks in the middle of nowhere sounds like heaven.

[Anonymous]

The first purchase model Amex had is dead and gone. Use it wherever you want.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
The first purchase model Amex had is dead and gone. Use it wherever you want.

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I don't have an Amex yet. I plan on applying in June for the Costco Amex.But I have read a lot about the shady business practices of Amex like this article here.

Oct 21, 2008 -- AMEX targeting Wal-Mart customers to shut off their cards?

Clark has a special warning concerning credit cards for those who travel. American Express -- which has reported lower earnings and a much higher rate of charge-offs -- is using new software that can unexpectedly harm some of its best customers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, AMEX now uses data-mining software to analyze where you use your card and shut off your credit line if they deem it necessary -- based on where you shop. This is even happening to elite customers who carry Platinum cards.

Customers who shop at Wal-Mart or Marshall's, plus those who have a mortgage through Countrywide, are suspect in AMEX's estimation. The company's software tells them that those customers are more likely to default on their accounts -- even if they've never been late in their lives!

This is really just a gross overreaction on AMEX's part. Clark shops at Wal-Mart, so he's expecting his Costco-branded AMEX to be shut off at some point! And furthermore, the logic just doesn't seem to work out here. Would shopping at overpriced high-end stores at the mall then mean you're more likely to pay your bills than shopping at a discount store?

The MBAs must have too much time on their hands, to take discrete pieces of info and make an ironclad determination about you. As always, the forum is open for an AMEX spokesperson to come on the show and refute The Wall Street Journal's report.

The takeaway here is that you should have more than 1 line of credit available at all times, especially if you travel. Who wants to be stuck somewhere and not be able to rent a car or get a hotel room?

Of course, you should only have multiple lines of credit if you know you won't spend yourself into oblivion!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
The first purchase model Amex had is dead and gone. Use it wherever you want.

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When was this policy adopted? Use it anywhere? Nope. 

[Anonymous]

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@smalldede wrote:
I believe currently All amex charge product have a 2X point for shopping at gas station and grocery  store .Why not just go to gas station first and shopping at local grocery store.

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Yep, I intend to do that, but I still believe in Amex's first purchase modeling.  

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
I used both my AmEx cards for the first time at good restaurants. Not obscenely good, but cloth napkin good.

If it is true than AmEx is reverting to its travel and entertainment roots, this ought to make them happy. And you'll get a good meal!

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I don't think there is a cloth napkin restaurant within 50 miles of here, the locals would not know what to do with them. The best nearby restaurant, overlooking a lake, does not accept CC. Cash or local check only. If you bounce a check there the entire county will know of it. There is a cork board by the register with the names of all check bouncers printed in very LARGE letters.

I think I'll not use the green until I go to the casino. 

 

[haulingthescoreup]

I hear ya. You wanted rustic, looks like you've found it!

I don't know that I'd use it at the casino. Maybe for a meal in whatever city it's in.

Another option is an online purchase from a store like Macy's. The nearest Macy's to me is 200 miles away, but I'm now on their e-mail list, and I have to clean something out of my Inbox just about every day. I never get anything that's not on sale AND offering free shipping, and there seems to be plenty of that. Anyway, that's another thought. (I love my new comforter and duvet cover! --got them as they were doing their winter clearance sales.)